Do you have your defensible space prepared for the fire season?
As we have quickly moved into spring, fire season will also be here soon. The time to improve your defensible space is now, before fire season hits. The upcoming spring FireFree events is a great opportunity to take advantage of and starting planning around. Creating and maintaining defensible space around your home, is one of the most effective ways of improving your homes chance of surviving a wildfire without fire department assistance. FireFree urges residents to take advantage of the free event and prepare for the upcoming wildfire season.
Visit FireeFree.org for some simple steps you can take to protect your home and community from wildfire. This spring, partners in Deschutes and Jefferson Counties will host FireFree days for local residents.
Now is the time to clean up your yards, create defensible spaces around homes and drop off that debris at FireFree collection sites FOR FREE in Deschutes and Jefferson counties. Please note the Knott landfill FireFree event will happen May 1 to May 16. The transfer station events held at Negus, Northwest and Southwest will happen in the following weeks May 22-June 5.
Locations will be available across Deschutes and Jefferson Counties, find a convenient event near you:
- Knott Landfill
Saturday, April 30-Sunday, May 15, daily, 7am-5pm - Negus Transfer Station in Redmond
Saturday, May 21-Saturday, June 4, Monday-Saturday, 8am-4pm - Northwest (Fryrear) Transfer Station near Sisters
Saturday, May 21-Saturday, June 4, Wednesday-Saturday, 8am-4pm - Southwest Transfer Station near La Pine
Saturday, May 21-Saturday, June 4, Wednesday-Saturday, 8am-4pm - Sunriver Compost Site in Sunriver
Friday & Saturday, May 7-8, 8am-5pm - Box Canyon Transfer Site in Madras
May 7-8 and May 14-15, 8:30- 4:30 each day
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I drop off?
- Grass clippings, brush, pine needles, pinecones, weeds, trimmings and branches, stumps or trees (no larger than 12” in diameter).
- NOT Accepted: rocks, dirt, sod, lumber, metal, trash or plastics of any kind, including plastic bags.
Where are the most vulnerable places for glowing embers to ignite my home?
- Gutters and roof valleys filled with debris like pine needles and leaves. Clean them out. Despite a metal or asphalt shingle roof, the buildup of gutter debris provides the necessary fuel for the glowing embers to ignite adjacent fascia boards or siding — most often made of wood.
- Shrubs and weeds that provide a path of fuel for fire to reach your trees or home.Reduce shrubs and other “ladder fuels” around your home to reduce the threat of ground fires igniting nearby trees, or your home.
- Flammable materials near a deck, patio or fence.Remove weeds, shrubs or any combustible materials from around, under or on top of your deck, patio or wood fence. This includes flammable toys, planters, construction materials, patio furniture and cushions along with even small piles of pine needles or leaves.
- Bark mulch, pine needles, ornamental junipers or flammable vegetation within five feet of your home. This can provide the perfect ember bed that provides necessary fuel for the glowing embers to ignite the adjacent siding — most often made of wood.
- Woodpiles near your home or other combustible vegetation. Move woodpiles at least 30 feet away from your home or other combustibles.
Visit the FireFree website at firefree.org for more information about how you can prepare your property for wildfire season.
